journey to thrift

Perfect Sourdough Bread for Lazy People with Average Baking Skills. Part 1.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 07:39:00 +0000

Easy.
Before I get into this completely, ridiculously EASY recipe - remember: I'm an unrepentant lazy bread maker. Nothing's changed. I have four kids in three different schools and the forearm strength of a toddler - so I'm NOT kneading anything.

Lazy bread-maker repeats: no kneading. (I'm so totally cheating on my bread machine. Forever.)

When Mr. Chicken tells his colleagues that I make sourdough bread, and they respond "oh, does she have a bread machine?" (Yup.) He says "Yeah, but I mean she makes it from scratch in the oven...."

Here come the objections:
"Oh, well she must have a lot more time than me"... uh, no.

"I'm just way too busy to make bread"... We're working parents. That means: commuting soccer/football/lacrosse/volleyball/school projects/performances/field trips/science fairs/etc. ad nauseam. While I don't have time to fuss over extravagant loaves of artisan bread... this is a bread I can handle. I can crank out 2 or more loaves of fresh bread with dinner with very little effort with this recipe. And so can you.

Cheap.
So, if I didn't have you at "Easy", ask yourself if you like to pay $4 for a decent loaf of sourdough bread (FOUR DOLLARS!) that disappears in one meal. I don't. I do, however, love a good fresh hunk of sourdough. Since I am ~~hella cheap~~ financially prudent, I obsessed over it until I ended up with better-than-store-bought homemade sourdough... and costs right around 37¢ a loaf (buying flour in bulk is a major $ saver).

Delicious.
Really, really, really good. The kids (aka "the Locusts") and Mr. Chicken are a HUNGRY tribe. Sometimes I have to throw bread at them to fill them all up. If you're going to have a hunk of bread thrown at you, fresh baked, warm sourdough takes the sting out of it. Right?

Lazy Sourdough Bread Dough (enough for two 1.5 lb loaves)
(The whole process is a hybrid from a few different sources, but the dough portion was adapted mainly from Artisan Bread in 5 min a day)

5 Ingredients (FIVE!):
3 cups water
1 tbsp yeast**
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 cup unfed sourdough starter (aka discard)*
6 1/2 cups bread flour

EASY Directions
(with added italicized yammer to save you a couple of google searches):

1. Add all ingredients (in order of listing above) and mix in large container until just combined (resist the urge to over-mix - no kneading).

I prefer to use a dough whisk - it really makes the job much easier. If you don't have/want a dough whisk, you can just use a wooden spoon.

The dough will be very moist– unlike a traditional bread dough– and will spread to fill the container - this is the correct consistency.

Cover loosely (if lid has an airtight seal, just set on top to allow gases to escape).

*About the starter: I have made my own starter in the past, but I neglected it when I came down with a rather nasty flu bug, and had to start over. Since I suffer from Impatient Baker's Syndrome, I purchased my current starter from King Arthur Flour. It has the consistency of a thick pancake batter:

**Yes, I added yeast. A traditional sourdough bread method doesn't have it (or need it), as the starter would serve in place of the yeast. That would, however, require a 24 hour rise and a couple of other steps - and I'm sticking by my promise - EASY!

2. Let rise at room temperature for 2-6 hours (will depend on temp and elevation) until doubled - don’t worry if it doesn’t completely double, the dough will finish it’s rise in the oven.

3. Cover and store in fridge for up to 7 days*** - the longer it sits, the more sour it will become. If the lid on your container is airtight - you can either poke a hole in it or leave it covered but partially unsealed so that the gases can escape. It's a good idea to refrigerate overnight before baking your first loaf. This is optional, but the dough will be easier to handle chilled. (I try to give it a couple of days before baking the first loaf, because I like the flavor it develops)

***Top of dough may become a bit grayish, and additional liquid (just drain it off) may collect around the dough - don't panic - this is normal. Pinkish or orange-ish, however, is NOT ok - this is mold. If you see any mold, dough should be discarded and container thoroughly washed. Your dough should have a pleasant tangy smell that is decidedly sourdough.

Congratulations! You're now the proud owner of your very own shapeless lump of wet dough. Be sure to check back soon. I'm going to show you how to take your dough from fridge to oven with about 5 - 10 minutes total hands-on time (not counting dough rest time, or baking) for a better-than-store-bought loaf of fresh sourdough bread - complete with a perfectly crunchy, chewy crust.

Get that dough started!

Make the Muffins Everybody Loves from the Oatmeal Everybody Hates

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Everybody hates mixed berry oatmeal.

Nothing personal Kirkland-Brand Organic Oatmeal people. But no one here would touch the stuff. I even tried to starve ‘em into submission.

“I will not buy any new oatmeal until this gets eaten!”

After all, Kids in Africa would be happy to have this oatmeal.

Picky Chicken watched intently as I made myself a bowl. “Why won't you just eat it?” I ask. I will eat this oatmeal. I will show her how silly this whole oatmeal thing is.

One word: Eeeewwwwwwwwwwww. Really.

Picky Chicken was triumphant, by the way. I could make out the words “See, mom, it’s GROSS!” through her giggling as I deposited my mouthful into the kitchen disposal.

The dilemma is two-fold:
Why not let the oatmeal issue go? I hate wasting food.
Why not just pop it into the food donation box at church? guilt.... Everybody hates mixed berry oatmeal - remember?

Do I smell challenge? Assignment: Make the Muffins Everybody Loves from the Oatmeal Everybody Hates. *sneaky laugh* Mom-1; Kids - O.

Muffin Ingredients:
3 packets of the dreaded mixed berry oatmeal (sub whatever flavor your kids refuse to eat)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup chunky applesauce (I used Trader Joes Chunky Spiced Apples)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Topping Ingredients (combine in small bowl):
1 packet dreaded mixed berry oatmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400º F. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper liners. In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine Nasty Oatmeal, flour, ground flax, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon. Snicker, and set aside.

Grab another bowl and whisk to combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, egg, applesauce, vanilla & sour cream until smooth.

Stir dry ingredients into wet until evenly moistened. Small, dry lumps are ok. Laugh maniacally. Pour batter into lined muffin pan. Sprinkle muffins with the topping mixture of Nasty Oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.

Bake in preheated oven approximately 20 minutes - until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed.

Keep a straight face when everybody, including Picky Chicken tells you how much they LOVE the muffins you made. Oh yeah. I'm sneaky like that.

Fail-Proof Bulk Food Storage

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Avoiding Waste.
One of the most common objections to bulk foods is fear of waste. Wasting your bulk foods through improper storage and pest infestation is a HUGE waste of time and money. Having a manageable system of organization, rotation and pest protection is key. Remember, the idea is to buy bulk staples - things like rice, oats, flour, sugar, and spices. These are the main ingredients that you will be using regularly for cooking and baking.

Example: I bake various muffins, bars and snack items for kids snacks and lunches on a regular basis. A 5 lb bag of flour is currently about $4 at my local grocery store, and with all that baking, it doesn't last too long around here. Instead, I now buy a 25 lb bag of flour for under $7. That's a 65% savings!

Store Immediately, Based on Rate of Use.
As soon as possible after purchase, divide your bulk food into manageable/usable portions and take steps to properly store, seal and prevent pest infestation. I take my 25lb bag of flour, and divide into five 5 lb ziploc bags and freeze (see "Keeping Pests Out", below). Rice on the other hand, is stored in a 5-gallon bucket with a gamma-seal lid.

Organization & Rotation: How to Select Storage Containers

Yes, this does take a little time to set up. But, it's worth it. I swear. Once you get organized, rotation of your bulk items is a snap. You will need two sizes of food-grade containers for this method. The larger "buckets" or similar should hold the bulk quantities (be sure that the container you select is "food grade". A great source for inexpensive buckets is U-Line (I am in no way affiliated with U-Line - I have just found that their prices/quality are very good). Or you can try your local bakery or restaurant - they often discard bulk food buckets, or offer them at a very discounted price. Smaller, more manageable jars or containers for the kitchen are refilled from your larger bulk containers. This allows for rotation of bulk ingredients that will assure freshness, and avoid spoilage/waste.

Sealing your containers.
This probably won't be a problem with your smaller, kitchen containers. But, be sure to select your larger storage containers wisely. A pest-proof seal is critical. Also consider that your larger containers should be accessible for filling smaller containers and rotation of goods. I personally use 5 gallon buckets with gamma-seal lids. The lids screw off for easy access, and they seal well.

Keeping Pests Out.

This bit of info will probably gross you out. Sorry. But, some of those pests (weevils, etc) are already in the flour when you bring it home from the store. Gross, I know. Most of us will use a 5 lb bag of flour before the eggs hatch and infest your food. In a 25 lb container, you're much more likely to find your sealed container writhing with the little nasties. If you don't want your pantry to look like a scene from a horror movie, eliminate the problem BEFORE you put your food into the storage container. Fortunately, this doesn't require any special equipment or skills - just freeze for 36 - 48 hours. This will kill whatever lurks within, and prevents any future hatchings.

Next Up: Shelf-life and Food Selection.

Spanish Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:40:00 +0000

Our typical Thursdays can best be described as “frenetic”, “chaotic” or “crazy” ... including: conditioning (the high school football off-season variety), Picky Chicken’s karate, Middle-schoolers school play dress rehearsals, a softball game, carpooling and, oddly 2 (not-faked) knee injuries during P.E. (I got two calls home from school today within 2 hours of each other).

This calls for a delicious home-cooked meal to bring us back from the brink of chaos. But, make it easy, and un-complicated, please! The polar opposite of today’s schedule.

This simple recipe was passed on to me from a friend, passed down to her from her mother and grandmother. It’s a shining star in the crock pot category - a convenient, few ingredients, and easy to throw together. Picky Chicken picks the olives out, but, then, Picky Chicken always picks something out!

Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 bottle (12oz) beer (any kind, lighter will transfer less flavor than a dark - I’ve used many different kinds, light and dark, depending on what’s in the fridge)
1 6 oz. jar of spanish olives, juice and all
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
3-4 lbs Chicken pieces (you can use breasts, thighs, legs - boneless or bone-in, your choice)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Dump all ingredients willy-nilly in to the crock.

I usually dump chicken first (frozen is ok!), and other ingredients on top - but there is no science to that order. I don’t think you could ruin this meal if you tried. Make sure to fill crock with chicken 1/2 - 3/4 full. If you use breasts, add 2 tbspl of butter, for a fuller flavor. Or, don’t - you make the call.

You could probably dress this up a bit by adding some steps to the process - browning the chicken, adding a few spices... but, it is pretty complete as is, and hands-off is definitely my style today, and since I can get away with salt and pepper to taste... I am.

Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or 8-10 hours on low.

Serve over egg noodles or rice. We like the egg noodle version around here. Makes 8 hearty servings.

The bottom line:
chicken (sale thighs and legs) at 99¢/lb
spanish olives $1.45
tomato paste 47¢
beer (I used Fat Tire today) $1.50
egg noodles $1.29

Total: $8.71 for 8 servings, or $1.08 per serving!

Lightly dusted with potting soil

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:57:00 +0000

My apologies for the silence. My seeming distance from the kitchen is an attempt to fill it with tidings of fresh produce this spring and summer. I'm so looking forward to the taste of a homegrown tomato!

This is what is either planted, or germinating at the moment:

Desert king watermelon

Planter's jumbo melon

California Wonder peppers

Big Month tomatoes

California golden peppers

Tam Jalepenos

Serrano peppers

Romanesco Broccoli

Cauliflower

Genovese Basil

Common Chives

Cilantro (sadly, this first crop was totally decimated by aphids!)

Ozark strawberries

Elizabeth Blueberries*

Canby Raspberries (thornless)

Tendercrisp celery

Mexican Limes

Washington Navel Oranges

*We may have to switch to another variety that is better suited to our soil (ph is just not low enough without amendments!). Time will tell.

On my to-plant list:

Blue Lake pole beans

Yellow crookneck squash

Black Beauty Zucchini

Marketmore Cucumbers

Catnip (for Vlad, our "garden lion")

Snow's Fancy Pickling Cucumbers

Great news!

We discovered that our chilling hours (outlying San Diego county) are 500! More than adequate for apples!

BIG kudos to hubby, who has been spending countless hours on his days off and after work building raised beds, a stackable compost bin, mixing soil amendments, transplanting, watering, covering (still getting frost here) and researching for future plants. Everyone in the family has enjoyed getting a little dirty.

Picky Chicken and Big Sista Chicken released our "ladies" into the garden yesterday evening to feast on those nasty little aphids. Chicken Wing (mr. middle school) brought home some cotton seeds from Grandma's yesterday, but we have no idea where they were seeded. uh oh. :)

Oh - and I wanted to mention that I bought heirloom seed from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. In addition to preferring non-gmo seed, hubby and I are learning how to harvest and save seed. Much of the seed you will find at Wal-mart and other "big box" stores is hybrid, and will product sterile seed. So far, we are looking at a 90-95% germination rate of the seeds we planted from Baker. I have heard 40 - 50% from friends who went with Wal-Mart seed... just something to consider!

Honey Wheat Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:32:00 +0000

The Honey Wheat Bread Disaster is safely behind me. This new and improved Honey Wheat Bread rescued my ego as it turns out wonderfully, every time. This is a bread machine recipe, since I’m still a big cheater-bread-maker.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup warm water (not to exceed 110º - I give my water the “wrist” test)
1 1/2 Tblsp butter
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups bread flouor
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour 2 tsp bread machine yeast
1 1/2 Tbspl white sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules
1 1/4 tsp cocoa

Directions:
Add all ingredients to your bread machine per your machine’s instructions. Set to regular or basic cycle with light crust. I have successfully used “rapid cycle” as well.

Total cost to make: $1.18

Smokin' Hot Steakhouse Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:06:00 +0000

When I say smokin', I mean HOT. This recipe was (mildly) adapted from Cooks Illustrated. I actually cut the heat a bit with Picky Chicken in mind. It is still pretty fiery. Too fiery for Picky Chickens.

It is a little more involved (ok, a lot more) than most crock pot recipes. You may want to save this recipe for a weekend. Or, you may want to try to convince your husband he could be the chili champion of the world if he masters this recipe, and go make yourself a cup of tea and read a book while you leave him to it. If this strategy would work at your house, I highly recommend it. Otherwise, roll up your sleeves, grab your apron and commit to the chili. It’s a bit of a process. However, if you have the time, and a craving for some seriously rockin' chili, you’ll probably find the extra time was worth it. I did.

Consequently, this is also a sale dinner, which bumps this tasty meal up a notch in my book. This sale beef roast was $2.49/lb (compared to $4.99/lb for pre-cut stew meat in the same aisle). I asked the butcher to trim the roast and cut it into pieces for stew. I wasn’t sure that butchers will actually do that sort of thing these days, but the guy behind the counter at our local market was pretty nice, although he did suggest I get my kitchen knives sharpened.

Total cost was around $16 for 8 hearty servings, or around $2 per serving. Typically, I like to stay around the $10 range, but for this chili, I'll make an exception. It's really good.

Ingredients:
6 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (28oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
5 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 1/2 lbs of boneless beef roast, trimmed and cut into 3/4 - 1 1/4 inch pieces
Sea salt and ground pepper (I used coarse ground red and black pepper)
1 lb of tenderized flank steak, cut into cubes
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
3 medium sweet yellow onions
3 jalapenos chiles, stemmed and minced
4 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
8 garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 8 tsp)
1 16-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 16-oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp oregano

Directions:
Making a thick, rich sauce:
This may seem like a lot of work... it did to me. But, it gives this chili a dimension in flavor and texture that can’t be matched by adding cornstarch or flour. Layer tortillas in dry skillet over med-high heat and cook on both sides until blistered, approximately 2 minutes per side.

Let cool. Tear tortillas into 2-inch pieces and combine with 2 cups chicken broth. Heat in microwave about 2-3 minutes, saturating tortilla pieces with broth.

Puree broth-tortilla mixture in blender. Add puree to crock.

Next, blend chipotle and tomatoes until smooth. Now add chipotle-tomato mixture, remaining broth and brown sugar to the crock. (I didn’t have any brown sugar on hand. Instead, I subbed 1 Tbsp light brown sugar + 1/2 Tbsp of molasses.)

Browning the Beef:
Apparently, there are rules about browning beef. According to Cook’s Illustrated, the idea is not to overcrowd the pan, which results in steaming the meat, rather than browning. What you want is a nice deep brown crust on all sides.

This means you’ll probably have to brown the beef in batches, or use an electric skillet to handle larger portions. I went with batches, because wrestling that giant skillet into the sink to handwash it after all this was very unappealing. I might reconsider the skillet route next time.

Dry the beef with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. Removing the excess moisture helps the beef to brown, rather than steam. Heat 2 tsp of oil in skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Brown beef thoroughly on all sides, about 8-10 minutes.

Add browned beef to crock. Repeat process if browning in batches. When all beef has been added to crock, add 1/4 cup water to skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and return skillet to medium-high heat. Cook until almost all water has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Transfer all contents to crock, and wipe skillet dry.

Layers of flavor:
The “layers of flavor” concept described in Cook’s Illustrated is building each flavor to it’s fullest potential for a robust complexity. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, jalapenos, and 1/4 tsp salt and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until spices are deeply fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Transfer vegetables to crock. Add remaining 2 Tbsp water to skillet, scrape up any remaining spices, and add to crock. Stir to combine.

Cook on high 6 - 7 hours, or 9-10 hours on low. approximately 15 minutes before serving, stir in beans. Stir in oregano just before serving. Salt and pepper to taste - I did not find any additional salt or pepper necessary.

Believe it or not, I’ve greatly reduced the length of this recipe from it’s original version. Cook’s Illustrated is an amazing source of information on every step of the process. This recipe is how I became a Cook’s Illustrated junkie. You may just want to pick yourself up a copy!

Honest Scrap!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:03:00 +0000

Calm in the Kitchen was kind enough to give me this sweet award! Click here to check out her blog, if you haven't already visited. Thank you so much for the compliment... It's nice to know someone is actually reading this stuff!

So, here's the 10 things you may not (or may not want to) know about me:

I want glasses. Friends with glasses tell me this is crazy. But, but.... they're SO cute.
I have secret "treats" on the top shelf of the pantry (read: candy). Ssssshhh! Hubby found 'em (and I had to share with him), but the kids still don't know.
I met my husband when I was five years old. His little sister was my best friend. Somehow, I never had a crush on him when I was a kid - pinky swear!
I was a strict vegetarian for seven years... until my pregnancy with Picky Chicken when I suddenly became a rabid carnivore. I had this primal craving for meat, and was eating meatballs for breakfast. Freakshow!
I could sleep for 14 hours straight, no problem. I am great at sleeping. With 4 kids, this pretty much never happens. It's like a dream of mine.
I have very vivid dreams and hubby and kids find them rather entertaining.
I don't watch tv.
I heart gummy bears.
Every once in a while, we have ice cream for dinner, and dinner for dessert - just to shake things up.
I never paint my fingernails, only the toes.

ok. Enough about me. Here's a few people I'd like to pass this on to:

The Daily Spud - Spud rocks my socks and captured my heart with Au Gratin Au Guinness.

Joie de Vivre - who fascinates me with her impressive bread-making ambition.

Nutrition Kitchen - Tram has some really fantastic recipes!

Roasted Butternut Squash Chowder

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:28:00 +0000

My husband loves butternut squash soup. This is how it happened that 3 butternut squash ended up in my cart during a visit to our local health food store earlier in the week. I thought: I will turn this into soup! But - reality check! - I really had no idea what to do with the squash in this form...

Previous encounters with butternut squash were with the nicely cubed and packaged variety. The squash in its natural state was new territory for me. Intimidated? Yes. But, luckily I tend to be a tad impulsive about things... (yes, it’s a virtue of mine!)

I arrived at this recipe by combining the good-sounding bits and pieces of several recipes... all very technical. I followed the directions for Roasted Butternut Squash on the Williams-Sonoma site from which I would attempt to craft my own puree. I also incorporated the method of the "building layers of flavor" concept I picked up from a recent copy of Cook’s Illustrated (popped that beauty into my cart on the very same day as the butternut squash!). The idea was to create a recipe that would be a for a filling main course meal: 1 part butternut squash soup, 1 part hearty chowder.

Ingredients:
3 medium-sized butternut squash (choose even-colored, nicely shaped squash that feel heavy for their size)
1/3 cup of crumbled bacon (plus, 1/4 cup for garnish later)
8 small russet potatoes (or 2-4 large sized), peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 large carrots, roughly diced
3 celery stalks, sliced
5 cups chicken stock
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
1 bunch green onion, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp sage powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fat-free half & half (you can use heavy cream here, if you prefer) - to add before serving
optional: 2 cups cooked chicken

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400º. Poke holes in squash so they don't explode during baking. [If you would like to add some roasted squash ooze to the bottom of your oven, be sure to poke them over and over with a Friday-the-13th-like zeal. Otherwise, only poke top sides a couple of times and perhaps line your oven rack with foil, just in case.] Place squash directly on rack and bake for approximately 1 hour.

While squash is baking, go ahead and get the crock heated up and going with the other ingredients. Add chicken stock, diced carrots and peeled and cubed potatoes to crock.

Add olive oil to large saute or frying pan, and heat on med-high heat until oil is just smoking. Add 1/3 cup crumbled bacon and cook for 1 min. Add onion, celery and salt, sage powder, thyme and fresh ground pepper to pan. Cook until onions and celery are tender, about 2-3 minutes. Your house should smell like Thanksgiving about now. Remove pan from heat and stir the resulting mixture into crock ingredients.

Return the pan to heat and add 1/4 cup white wine to pan. Bring to a simmer - scraping up any browned bits - for about 1-2 minutes. Now add this to crock ingredients.

Back to the squash: When it is done baking (it will be soft to the touch and a knife will easily penetrate the skin), remove from oven to cool on rack [don’t forget the oven mitts!]. When squash is cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds and fibers. Scoop out pulp with a large spoon, add nutmeg and brown sugar, and add to blender. (Sample the puree now. If the squash is starchier than it is sweet, add a pinch of sugar to the pureed mixture). Take 2-3 cups of broth from the crock and add to squash to assist in blending (the squash is pretty thick). Add puree to ingredients in crock, and gently stir to combine.

Total cook time [from the time you added the first ingredients - the root vegetables and onion/celery/spice mixture to the crock until cooked] is high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8-10. Just before serving, stir in half-and-half or heavy cream. Garnish with crumbled bacon.

Makes 6 hearty servings.

This was also a sale dinner!
Squash $3.00
Potatoes $1.00
Chicken Stock $1.69
Carrots .40¢
Celery .35¢
Onion .50¢
Total: $6.94, or $1.16 per serving

Bagels! I Made Bagels!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:01:00 +0000

This is very exciting. I actually made bagels. And, they are so very, very good - and, so easy to make...

I cheated a little...

and used my bread machine's dough cycle to do the dirty work. It worked out so perfectly, I am just beside myself. I will never buy bagels from a store again.

The sheer excitement caused by my new bagel-making abilities resulted in an impulse purchase of flavored cream cheeses last time I went to the grocery store. I made a second batch today just to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

It worked. I really can make bagels...

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup warm water (not to exceed 110º F)

3 cups bread flour

1 tsp salt

3 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp cinnamon

2 1/2 tsp rapid-rise yeast

3 quarts water (for boiling)

1 tbsp honey (for boiling)

Egg Mixture (brush on before baking):

1 egg

1 tbsp

Directions:

Set bread machine to dough cycle. Add ingredients into bread machine pan in order listed. Run through initial dough cycle, approximately 20 - 30 min (in my machine this took a little over 30 min). Remove from machine after kneading, and machine moves to "rise". Transfer dough to lightly floured surface. Separate dough into 6 balls. Set aside one or two 1/4" balls for testing in the next step.

Preheat oven to 400º. In a large pan, set 2-3 quarts of water and 1 tbsp of honey to boil. Poke a hole in center of dough ball with your thumb and stretch to form an even circle. Set on floured surface and lightly cover in plastic wrap to rise (approximately 10-15 minutes). The plastic wrap keeps a skin from forming on the bagel surface and restricting the rise. I also covered the plastic wrap with a dish towel. I don't know that this was necessary, but it just felt like the right thing to do.

After dough has risen, check boiling water. Water should be heated to a steady rolling boil before beginning this step. Drop small "tester" dough balls into the water. If the "testers" immediately sink, and then pop back up to the surface, your water is ready for the bagels.

Drop bagels into water 2-3 at a time for 1 1/2 min on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside on a wire rack to cool for a minute or two. Repeat with remaining bagels.

Set cooled bagels on a jelly-roll pan, or like baking surface lightly sprinkled with cornmeal.

Brush tops of bagels with egg mixture (1 egg + 1 tbsp water). (I also saved my egg mixture for the next batch).

Bake for 15 min at 400º. Remove and cool on racks.

The really awesome part:

Since I buy my flour in bulk (25 lbs of bread flour is $6.99 at my local warehouse store), these (fresh & oh-so delicious) bagels cost under 75¢ to make. Wow!

My last batch stored very well for one week without any noticeable staleness or spoilage.

Sale Dinner! Pan-Fried Pork Chops & Crash Hot Potatoes - Oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:37:00 +0000

I see sale meat, and I've got my sharpie out. I wait impatiently for the weekly ads so I can plan my shopping trips to take advantage of the best sales on meat and produce. Normally, I am a Costco shopper for bulk items (staples, like rice, beans, oats, and flour) and spices, but sale meats always get my attention.

This week's sale meal is sponsored by:

Boneless Pork Chops - $1.99/lb & Red Potatoes - $.89/lb

This meal worked out to about $10 total for 7 hearty servings and seconds of potatoes (6 for dinner, plus hubby's lunch for work); or, $1.42/per serving.

Ingredients for Pan-Fried Pork Chops:

1/2 - 3/4 cup olive oil (depending on the size of your pan)

1 cup flour

1/2 cup corn starch

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt-free seasoning

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

7 large boneless pork chops

Directions:

In electric skillet, heat oil at 350º. In shallow dish, combine flour, cornstarch, garlic salt, chili powder, salt-free seasoning, and fresh ground pepper. Rinse pork chops in cold water.

Dredge in flour, cornstarch, spice mixture.

Fry pork chops in heated oil for 5-7 minutes each side, or until coating is golden brown. Drain excess oil before serving.

Ingredients for Crash Hot Potatoes baked in Super Garlic Love:

props to I Cook Stuff for this reduce-you-to-a-pile-of-drool (in a totally good way) recipe

10 red potatoes

olive oil (for baking pan or dish)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup shredded cheddar (for garnish)

crumbled bacon (also for garnish)

Directions:

Coat baking pan or dish with olive oil, and preheat oven to 450º. Cook potatoes on high in microwave for 12 - 18 minutes (in 6 minute increments - check every 6 minutes). While potatoes are cooking combine softened butter and minced garlic. Potatoes are done when fork pierces potato easily. Place potatoes in dish and mash with potato masher. Generously top with salt and pepper. Top each potato with approximately 1 tsp of butter and garlic mixture. Bake on top rack for 20 minutes. Tops will be golden brown. For the last 5 minutes of oven time, add shredded cheddar and bacon for an extra special treat.

Words cannot describe how delicious these potatoes are! The garlic (oh, how we love garlic!) really takes this simple dish to the next level. Even Picky Chicken cleaned her plate tonight.

Garlicky Delicious Cream of Mushroom Soup - Not From a Can!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:10:00 +0000

As part of my master plan to rid my world of canned soup (mwah ha ha ha), I succeeded in making Cream of Mushroom Soup in my crockpot. An entire crock yielded the equivalent of 10 cans of soup.

Ingredients:

2 lbs mushrooms

2 cups chicken stock

4 cups mushroom stock (I used Better Than Bullion Mushroom Base)

2 cans Evaporated milk

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 t salt

1/2 t white pepper

1 T dried onion powder

2 T Italian seasoning

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp no-salt seasoning

Directions:

Wash mushrooms and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. I also cut off the bottom of the stems, because they sometimes have that weird "woody" texture (it's the Picky Chicken in me)...

Add mushrooms to crock and pour lemon juice over mushrooms. Add spices, stocks, and stir.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, high for 4 hours.

After cooking, you can blend ingredients with an immersion blender, or try to pour hot soup into your blender without any catastrophic consequences - your choice. (I chose the immersion blender). After well blended, stir in evaporated milk and let cool.

Now comes the tricky part. Pouring soup into vacuum bags for the freezer. (I don't plan on quitting my day job to become a soup-pourer anytime soon). I decided to pour into a measuring cup first, to measure out 20 oz, or the size of 2 cans, since this is the amount I typically add to recipes. Easy does it.

Bottom Line:

10 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup = $18.50 or $1.85 a can (crazy, I know! That's CA for you!)

10 servings of Homemade Soup = $11 or $1.10 a serving.

So - while not a huge savings, it's worth it (to me) for organic, low sodium, no preservative - no yuck ingredients!

This recipe was adapted (just tweeked it a little) from Crockpot Lady. She rocks.

Nutrition Analyzer

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:58:00 +0000

I found a really cool site yesterday while I was researching nutritional information for the Pumpkin Spice Muffin post. I was searching for information on individual ingredients, and ended up finding this site that generates a nutritional breakdown for your recipes.

You can do your own recipe analysis on your favorite recipes here.

Just enter the amount of servings that the recipe makes, and all of the ingredients and press "analyze recipe". This will generate a nutritional label for your dish. Cool, huh? I thought so.

Just be sure to double-check each individual ingredient by clicking "view". Occasionally, the analyzer will match an ingredient to the closest item with a similar name - affecting the overall nutritional information. For example: "Italian Seasoning" in one of my soup recipes was counted as "Italian Dressing", thus bumping the fat and sodium count significantly. Since herbs are negligible in terms of nutritional content (at least in terms of calories, fat, sodium, protein and fiber), I just opted to just leave it out of the ingredients - for the purposes of generating the most accurate nutrition facts.

You can also search for nutritional information on popular packaged foods and do a comparison, if you wish. Proceed with caution... this feature may just break your heart! Hubby and I compared the nutritional information on the Pumpkin Spice Muffins to some of the Starbucks Muffins (in this case, their low-fat blueberry muffin) this morning... let's just say it has further firmed our resolve to cook and bake for ourselves.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:16:00 +0000

These muffins are a big favorite around our house. I suspect some of the neighborhood kids come over just to eat these muffins (our last little visitor ate 3 while she was here!). They are more popular than our trampoline– and that's saying a lot...

Grandpas also like 'em. There's a Grandpa muffin delivery in progress as I type this post...

Wet Ingredients:

1 29 oz. can pumpkin

6 eggs

1 cup chunky, unsweetened applesauce

1 T vanilla

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flax seed meal

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

This recipe makes 24 - 36 muffins depending on how you like to fill the cups. I like generous muffin tops, so I go heavy on the fill, yielding 24 muffins. Your results may vary.

Start by pre-heating your oven to 350º. Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners, or lightly coat with baking spray.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl (Seriously... make sure your bowl is pretty big. You'll be glad you did come mixing time). In a medium bowl, whisk wet ingredients until well mixed. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just moist. The mixture will appear dry at first, but it will combine perfectly, I promise.

Resist the urge to over-mix! Over-mixing makes for a dense, tough muffin.

Your batter should look like this when mixed. Spoon into muffin tin. Bake at 350º for 30-35 min, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from Addictive Pumpkin Muffins recipe by MidniteJasmine on allrecipes.com

Mama's Apple Butterscotch Bread Pudding

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 05:36:00 +0000

On Superbowl Sunday, we enjoyed meatball sandwiches at half-time. But, that is not really the point of this post.

My super-host mother-in-law sent us off that evening with a package of leftovers, including some lovely french bread. This lovely french bread - after a week of sitting ignored on our counter - is now not so lovely. It's rather stale and dangerously close to being wasted. Which I dislike very much. Waste, that is... not the french bread.

So, in a heroic effort to salvage said french bread, I am - at this very moment - transforming it into a lovely Bread Pudding. It is cold and rainy here today, and bread pudding just seems like the right thing to do on a day like this.

As a side note, I found apples on sale at our local market for 59¢ a lb. This made me very happy. A few have found their way into this recipe.

Ingredients:

10-12 oz. Day-old French Bread, cubed

3 med-large apples, peeled and sliced

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butterscotch chips

2 cups fat free half-and-half

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl, combine bread cubes (or torn pieces, depending on your style in the kitchen), sliced apples and butterscotch chips.

In a medium bowl, whisk mixture of brown sugar, half-and-half, milk, melted butter, cinnamon, eggs and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to bread mixture and combine thoroughly, allowing bread to absorb most of the moisture. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until center is set and apples are tender. Serve warm.

Corn Bread Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 03:44:00 +0000

Uh-oh! The boys around here look extra hungry tonight! They're hovering around the kitchen with big eyes and asking lots of questions...

How to beef up the fill-factor on the 3-Bean Chicken Chili? Corn Bread muffins! These are moist & not at all crumbly. Best of all - they are easy to make, healthy and family-approved!

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup corn meal

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup mayo (you can sub applesauce or pumpkin here as well!)

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º. Line muffin tin with liners, or spray with baking spray. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Combine wet ingredients in small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir until just moistened. Divide mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups (about 3/4 full). Bake for 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins.

3-Bean Chicken Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:14:00 +0000

This recipe is for the crockpot. Have I ever mentioned that I love my crockpot? Well, I do. A lot.

Ingredients:

6-8 chicken thighs or breasts (I used both)

2 cups chicken stock

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can (8 oz) salsa verde (substitute green chiles to turn down the heat)

1 bunch green onion

1 sweet yellow onion

3 tbl olive oil

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp red pepper

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbl cornstarch (for thickening later)

season salt to taste

Directions:

Brown chicken pieces in skillet with olive oil, green onion, and garlic. Add to crockpot. Add all other ingredients except cornstarch. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8-10 hours. Prior to serving, remove chicken and cut to bite size pieces. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 1/4 - 1/2 cup of chicken stock. With chicken removed, add cornstarch and stock mixture to crockpot and stir. Add chicken pieces and cook on low for another 15-30 minutes. Top with shredded sharp cheddar. I serve this with homemade Corn Bread Muffins.

Shockingly, even Picky Chicken (who just came out of a protracted "I hate beans" phase) likes this meal. It's considered a "make-again" at our house.

Chewy Pumpkin Granola Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:36:00 +0000

We missed our Wednesday bike ride - hubby was feeling under the weather. So I am channeling my pent up energy into making a huge mess in the kitchen.

This is a test recipe. I adapted it from several other chewy granola recipes, but have changed things around quite a bit. If I get the go-ahead (school admin), I plan to make another batch to send into hubby's elementary school class for his students who are not getting breakfast as home. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time doing anything well when my stomach is growling. I wonder if I can make a few batches at a time, and freeze for later?

mmmmmm. The house sure smells good when these are baking.

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup ground flax

1/2 cup oat bran

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup coconut

1/3 cup white chocolate chips (I really don't know how much I used, I was using up some leftovers from another recipe. Go nuts, if you're so inclined.)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil (I used canola)

1/4 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup honey

1 cup chunky applesauce (unsweetened)

2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Lightly toast oats in a dry pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When oats are cooled, combine dry ingredients thoroughly in large bowl with fork or whisk. Whisk wet ingredients in medium bowl until combined.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until combined and moist. If your mixture seems too dry, add some extra pumpkin a spoonful at a time. The consistency should be moist and sticky, not gooey wet, or crumbly dry. Press mixture into 9 x 13 baking pan lined with parchment paper. I also sprinkled mine with some sugar and cinnamon and a few extra white chocolate chips because I'm improvisational like that.

Bake on 350º for 30 minutes. When done, set on rack to cool. When cooled slightly, cut into bars or squares. Remove cut pieces from pan when completely cooled. Makes approximately 16 bars.

UPDATE: So far, Picky Chicken (our finicky gradeschooler) gave these bars a thumbs down. Shocking! Hubby called from work to say he was enjoying his during his class break. I was happy with how they turned out, and gladly munched the rest of Picky Chicken's bar with a cup (or three) of coffee this morning.

The Honey Wheat Bread Disaster

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:45:00 +0000

OK. It was really more of a "disappointment". But some words just don't convey with the same interest, and I am in a dramatic sort of mood right now.

Edible, but definitely not a recipe that I would recommend. And, it crumbled as I was slicing it.

Now, there was a wheat bread worth talking about just yesterday (different recipe), and it was gobbled up in record time by a horde of hungry beasts (my children & husband - two of said children are ravenous teenage boys). I didn't even get a photo in before it was reduced to crumbs. I have made a (personal) pledge only to post recipes with photos from here on out.

As I type this, I have toasted oats cooling downstairs, and chewy granola bars are in my immediate future. With photos.

The case for buying in bulk.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:41:00 +0000

Hear me out.

People see the word "bulk" and it conjures images of the doomsday fringe, or Y2k alarmists. Me? It makes me think of Kramer's warehouse can of Beefarino from Seinfeld. lol!

But, seriously... I want to motivate you to give this a shot:

Package & Process = Expensive

What I suggest is something entirely... normal. I've come to view every serving-size package, every ingredient I can't pronounce and every convenience food as a symbol of unnecessary additions to our bottom line that takes a hefty toll on the budget. I've also got plenty to rant about concerning certain preservatives, additives, sodium and added sweeteners... but that's another story for another day. Keywords here: Unnecessary packaging, additives and expense.

Insurance for your family

Not only will you save money buying your ingredients in quantity, but you also provide a small, but real hedge against inflation. It's hard not to notice the dramatic rise in grocery store prices. With rising fuel costs and drastic weather patterns affecting agricultural yields across the nation, we are likely to see these increases continue. I went to the store this week, and apples were *gasp* $1.70/lb! Most notably, this budget-conscious habit has also allowed our family the peace of mind to weather a gap in employment or income by falling back on bulk items. Knowing what to do with them in a pinch was a major bonus.

Efficient Shopping

Less trips to the grocery store mean less impulse shopping, better meal planning, and less waste of fresh items like fruits and vegetables. By making smart use of a few kitchen appliances, it's easier than you think to make hearty, delicious and healthy meals without being a slave to sales on "name brand" convenience foods.

OK - I'm being totally honest here: this has been a process. And, it still is. Unfortunately, there has been some (expensive) waste during my learning curve. Hopefully, you can learn from my mistakes (things I learned the hard way!) and start off on the right foot as you begin buying, storing and using bulk staples for daily living.

Warning: Stay away from the processed food aisle.
I'm talking about bulk quantities of staple foods - like beans, rice, flour, oats and spices. The golden rule of saving money with bulk foods requires a commitment to abandon your processed food habits. They are simply not cost effective, and not nearly as healthy as the food you prepare yourself - from scratch.

Don't skip lunch and go shopping. Oats and rice will always lose out to brownie mix and canned chili - it's just not a fair fight...

Sure, go ahead and keep some canned, prepared items on hand at first, no need for total overkill. I like to keep some canned meats on hand for use in a pinch, and I am slowly weaning myself from buying premade broths in favor of making and freezing my own. And by slowly, I mean there is a turkey carcass in the outer fridge still waiting to meet its homemade broth destiny (hubby is being very patient, or may have blocked it out completely). To reduce your reliance on processed foods, seek to cook at least one item "from scratch" on a daily basis.

These habits do die hard! My biggest hurdle so far, was to kick the canned-biscuit habit (along with the partially hydrogenated oils that make them oh-so-deliciously-flaky!). After many, many rounds of recipes, I finally found one that we could all live with - happily.

Most of my recipes include fresh & staple food ingredients. I only include recipes tested and approved by the whole family (including one really finicky grade-schooler!), and you'll probably notice that I tend to gravitate toward crock-pot recipes, or recipes than can be easily modified for the crock pot - simply because of the convenience - it makes cooking dinners from scratch possible on a very busy schedule.

That's it, for now.

Next Week: Storage Containers. Top reasons why food storage fails & how to make your bulk storage fail-proof.

Recipe: Easy-Peasy Fresh French Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:56:00 +0000

In the bread machine!

I like comfort food. Soups and stews soothe my soul. I LOVE my bread machine.

But, I got really tired - really quick - of paying a lot for bread mixes.

The first time I tried this recipe, my beloved bread machine of 8 years seized up during the kneading process and went to bread machine heaven. It took me a while to accept it.

Then, I got a shiny new Breadman for Christmas (pssst... they have an awesome deal on this model on amazon: Breadman TR875 2-pound breadmaker)

and I finally busted it out yesterday and gave it a whirl.

The Bread Machine makes me look like a rockstar.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour or all purpose flour (I used all purpose flour, because I didn't have any bread flour on hand here)
2 tsp active dry yeast

yup! that's it!

Directions:
Add ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed. Set machine to French Bread cycle - I used the rapid setting, because I got started kind of late, and was pressed for time between school, karate, and play practice...

If you really feel the urge, you can let the bread machine do the dirty work, and then shape into 2 loaves and bake in a 450º oven for about 20 min.

Bottom Line:
Yeast: 47¢ (approx. 1/2 packet)
Flour: 92¢ (I buy my flour in bulk)
Salt: pennies
TOTAL: $1.39

Disclaimer!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:23:00 +0000

I have occasionally been quoted singing the praises of some not-so-healthy food items. This is my personal dilemma (did I not say that this is a journey?). I will do my best to alert you when I have gotten lazy and fallen off the wagon (everyone has their days!).

It's a journey.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama Chicken) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:03:00 +0000

The motivation for my journey grew first from my disdain for watering lawns that don't produce any food, all the while the grocery store fruit and produce continues to rise. Our often hectic schedule strains both our budget and our waistlines with unhealthy foods made of ingredients we can't pronounce.

So,one day, I just went nuts.

And started cooking. From scratch.

I scoured the internet, magazines, and recipes from my grandma. It was easy, cheap, and it gave me a feeling of satisfaction that I hadn't had in a long, long time.

This is a collection of recipes, ideas, and tips as I learn how to make more from less and make my time, money, and energy really count towards something good.